Saturday, November 17, 2012

Antandroy

The Antandroy (or Tandroy) are a traditionally nomadic ethnic group of Madagascar inhabiting the arid southern part of the island around Ambovombe. Their name means "people of the thorns" in reference to the spiny thickets of endemic plants that characterize the southwestern region of Madagascar.

The origin of the Antandroy , as for most of the peoples of Madagascar, is unclear.

Legend would have it that their great ancestor, Raminia, came from Arabia between the 5th and the 7th century, and indeed traits inherited from the Arabs can be found in Antandroy culture, such as astrological knowledge and techniques of prediction. However the region inhabited by the Antandroy has, over the centuries, served as a shelter for other populations fleeing the innumerable migrations and invasions, and it is impossible to define an Antandroy ethnic “type”. Their culture, however, is very different to the others, because of their isolation. Hunters and breeders, the Antandroy still have a very simple lifestyle, never leaving their assagai or stick, which is the warrior’s emblem, and respecting the codes of a very strict society. Their celebrations in particular, with music, dances and wrestling, are sacred and are guided by an original conception of the world: a whole universe still living and perfectly functional.

it is in this arid and thorny land that some of the most amazing musics on the planet are born!